Q&A with Carlos Quentin

April 12, 2013_San Diego_| The Padres’ Carlos Quentin after he struck out to end the eight inning during the Padres game against the Rockies at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday. | Mandatory Photo Credit: Photo Hayne Palmour IV/U-T San Diego

April 12, 2013_San Diego_| The Padres’ Carlos Quentin after he struck out to end the eight inning during the Padres game against the Rockies at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday. | Mandatory Photo Credit: Photo Hayne Palmour IV/U-T San Diego

Before Monday's game against the Reds, Carlos Quentin, the often-elusive Padres left-fielder, was asked about the prospect of being traded, whether he was a good fit for the National League and/or could stay healthy, and if his approach on defense might be doing more harm than good.

Though not always accommodating, Quentin is generally insightful and direct -- Monday was no different.

UT: Are you a guy that can stay healthy in the National League?

CQ: Just being honest with you, you should research and kind of know what my injury past is. Knees have kind of been the recent thing. Injuries are always going to be part of the game. The Padres brought me here for certain reasons, they also are intelligent people, and they know my past history. So, having said that, they felt they wanted me here and need me here, and so that’s where I’m at. But this is a question that you ‘re gonna ask several players. You gotta look at the fact at how many games we’ve played. I’m not trying to make excuses. Unfortunately, there have been guys that have gone the entire year and then things happen. It’s always been my focus to try to avoid it, and that’s all I can say about that because I try to look at it in a positive way.

UT: Avoid it, meaning…?

CQ: I lose weight. My workouts are geared towards being healthy.

UT: And I’m not saying it has anything to do with (how you prepare), I saw Greg Oden rehab every day and hurt his…

CQ: That’s what I’m trying to say, is that – at some point things are the way they are. But whether I’m a National League player or an American League player, teams need certain things and that’s what they go out and acquire players for.

UT: You also have a no-trade clause in your contract. Is there anything that the team could do – offer you a whole lot of money – that might get you to waive that?

CQ: To be completely honest, I have not thought about it at all. This is my first multi-year contract I’ve ever received in my career. I was completely honored to have it. It was one of my goals in my career, and I was fortunate to achieve that and the Padres were part of it. So, to be honest with you, I haven’t even thought about it.

UT: You’ve also been playing extremely well lately – maybe one of the top five hitters in the NL over the past few weeks – is that just a testament to how hard you worked?

CQ: I’ve had to make adjustments. I’ve made adjustments to my swing, that’s been the biggest key. I’m fortunate to get some success with it. Sometimes when you make adjustments, you don’t get success, you move onto the next thing and you jump around. Fortunately, I’ve had some success. I’m still learning about hitting upright, and that’s taking a lot of pressure off my lower half. The rest of the other injuries that I’ve had throughout my career, I feel confident about remaining healthy with and not having to deal with them, just because part of the reason I came here is the training staff works their (behind) off. They do an unbelievable job. They work their (behinds) off day in and day out on all these guys, and that’s part of why I feel comfortable coming here and being a part of being healthy.